Kegel-size
Dr. Read gives the low-down on how a two-minute drill can change your sex life forever.
BY DR. TRINA READ

BIgStockPhoto Kegels are quick to do and nobody will be the wiser “ The wonderful thing about Kegels is you can do them anywhere without anyone having the slightest idea of what you are up to.”

Don’t bother with the many how-to books on having a more fulfilling orgasm. The quick, easy and zero-cost answer to a more satisfying and intense orgasm is… drum roll please… Kegels. They are the best two minutes a day you could ever spend on the road to better sex.

Before there's any eye rolling, please hear me out. When I speak to people about doing Kegels, many women nod their heads sagely and explain they have already done them. Problem is—they’ve tried it once and it was ages ago. And don’t even get me started on how the men’s Kegel movement still hasn’t even caught on—I’m zealously working on getting them on board too.

First, some history. In the mid-1900s, Dr. Arnold Kegel developed his Kegel exercise for women experiencing urinary incontinence. During follow-up examinations, the women reported an amazing side-effect: Kegels helped their vaginas become a lot more sensitive during intercourse.

Of course, this intrigued Dr. Kegel and, subsequently, he found that doing Kegels exercised the pubococcygeal (PC) muscle—the muscle group that forms the orgasmic platform. So during orgasm, along with the other pelvic muscle, the PC muscle contracts.

Understandably, every muscle group needs to be exercised in order to maintain tone and strength—and to feel its best. If not exercised, the muscle group will become slack and eventually develop atrophy. Therefore, an out-of-shape PC muscle usually causes the lack of sensation around a woman’s vaginal opening.

Kegels after childbirth are a great way to tone and strengthen the vagina. As well, some postmenopausal women find Kegels help them to maintain lubrication because of the daily increase in blood flow to that area.

The great news is that it’s never too late to start exercising your PC muscle.

In case you’ve never done a Kegel exercise, here are the basics. To find where your PC muscle are located:

* Sit over a toilet with your legs apart and start a flow of urine
* Half way through, stop the flow
* Concentrate on what muscle you used to stop the flow—that is your PC muscle.

It’s important to do this trial exercise because it’s easy to mistake your stomach, buttocks or thigh muscle for your PC muscle.

Once your PC is located, there are three simple exercises you can do.

The Squeeze and Release Exercise
Contract your PC muscle for three seconds, then let them rest for three seconds. If holding for three seconds is too much at first, then start with one or two seconds instead. Do this exercise ten times per day.

The Flutter Exercises
This exercise is about squeezing and releasing the PC muscle as quickly as possible. Rapidly squeeze and release ten times, then take a short rest. Doing this to upbeat music helps keep you on track. Do three sets of ten per day.

The Advanced Kegel Exercise
Once you get good at Kegels, it’s time to take it up a notch. Pull up the entire pelvic area as though trying to suck up water into the genitals. Then push out or bear down as if trying to push the imaginary water out. This exercise will use a number of stomach muscle as well as the PC muscle. Do this ten times per day.

It’s pretty normal at first for your PC muscle to tire out easily. However, if you find some soreness in your thigh, stomach or buttocks muscle you need to go back to the start and properly locate your PC muscle once again.

The hardest part will be you keeping up with your daily Kegel routine. As such, do your Kegels in unison with other daily habits. I recommend making it a part of your morning routine. Do your Kegels while in the shower, brushing your teeth, on the commute to work, waiting at stoplights, or while exercising and listening to your favorite music. Perhaps, at work you can liven up that boring meeting, make answering the telephone more fun, or have your own little party while waiting in a take-out line for lunch. There are tons of opportunities.

The wonderful thing about Kegels is you can do them anywhere without anyone having the slightest idea of what you are up to. Just make sure to wear a big smile on your face to confuse the heck out of whoever may be watching you. It will be your own little secret.

Kegels are a fast, easy, convenient way for men and women to enjoy their orgasms so much more. It’s your two-minutes-a-day regime to better sex.

Dr. Trina Read is the founder of VivaXO.com; a leading relationship and sexual health expert and educator; and is a best selling author, media expert, syndicated blogger, international speaker, magazine columnist, and spokeswoman. Trina has just launched Sensual Tastes Events, an interactive workshop blending the pleasures of food and sex education. Follow her on Twitter and Facebook.

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